Just some milestones...

Adam. 19 months. He says: ball, oskar, truck, book, bear, duck, moo, baa, and woof, all in abbreviated Adam-speak. He doesn't have a big vocabulary, but he understands EVERYTHING. If you ask him where something is, he'll try and go find it and bring it to you. If I tell him we are going to the park, he goes and sits on the stairs waiting to have his shoes put on. I also ask him if he has pooped and he pats him bottom. Then I say, "do we need to go upstairs?" and he starts heading upstairs.

He is actually kind of obsessed with shoes. He loves having new shoes. When I gave him his "new" (Ethan's old) sandals he pointed them out to everyone he saw for the next two days. He also puts on Daddy's sandals and walks around outside. Think little girl wearing her Mom's high heels. And he likes to put on hats he finds around the house. He's just an easy going little guy, but kind of klutzy. I don't think a day has gone by that he hasn't given himself a knock on the head. Whether it's tripping over his own feet, walking into a head level furniture, or slipping on the kitchen floor it always ends in a nice shiner on his head. He also likes to open drawers and close his fingers in them.

At nearly 20 months I'm trying to transition him to 1 nap. His morning nap was still going strong at 2 hours, but the afternoon nap was getting more difficult, and I really want to be able to take the boys places in the morning. He's still a big time thumb sucker. And in fact I think he brought the last cold into the house. He took down all of us with that one.

He loves to put food on his head during meals. It's not that he's full, maybe he likes to mix food on his head for added flavor? He loves books and most of the time when I get him from his crib in the morning or after a nap he's yelling "book" and runs over to collect a few. He also loves to dance any time he hears music.

He makes funny faces now. I still have to get a picture of it. It's a cross between a cheesey cheese and a dental exam. He also has his first girlfriend. She's an older woman at 2.5, her name is Taylor. She's already fed him his water, shared her goldfish snack, and held his hand up the stairs of the playground.

Ethan buttoned his pants for the first time today. I'm not talking snaps or an elastic waste, but a button! Yes, it's the small victories that make me proud. He's doing great in school, not fighting with me about going there anymore. He's happy to go, but I have to stay until he finished washing his hands...seems fair.

He enjoys playing board games now and is always asking to play Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, or Puppy Pals Bingo. He is actually really good about taking turns and following the rules. He loves reading books with Adam and I. He's getting better about doing things on his own. We finally got him to put on his own socks and shoes. Yes he's almost 4 and just putting on his own shoes...while his 1.5 year old brother desperately tries to put on his own shoes.

He still remains to be a very picky eater much to his Mother's frustration. However yesterday with Adam on a bike seat on my bike and Ethan on his bike we rode to the store and bought a dinosaur sandwich cutter. That day he ate an entire sandwich, then today he ate TWO sandwiches for lunch and dinosaur french toast for dinner. I plan to make dinosaur chicken quesadillas and other dinosaur meals while this lasts.

We've all had a rough time adjusting to daylight savings time. We missed Ethan's 8am class on Tuesday because WE ALL SLEPT IN until 7:50am. We are getting there. Today we all got up around 7:15. You would think we could just set an alarm clock and be done, right? Well no, we want to sleep silly! I'm really thankful Ethan has afternoon preschool this week.

Oskar has been infested with fleas for a few weeks. Poor guy. I've been washing bedding (his and ours) and flea hunting on him several times a day. In his five years, we've never had a problem like this. It's horrible...especially since I'm scrumptious to the fleas too. I think we are finally getting a handle on things, but we'll see. I'm going to try and get some new flea meds for him since I heard it might be more effective than what we've been using.

Resurrecting the Blog

It has been five months since I've updated the blog. I decided I was going to give up the blog because I just didn't have time for it. In that five months a lot has happened. I'll try to quickly update you on the kids, but it was mainly my own stuff that kept me from having time to update. However last night I was working on Adam's baby book and referred to the blog for all his milestones. I enjoyed re-reading all the entries and decided I really should try to keep up with the blog...but maybe have a more realistic goal of once a month.

In July things started to get really busy for me in a good way. I decided to start building up my portfolio and skills to start a photography business. From July to December I was crazy busy. I spent every day practicing, spending more money on fun gear, bribing my children to try out said gear, and running.

Yes in addition to being an aspiring photographer I decided to become a runner. I hate running and always have. I still do, but in July I decided enough was enough. I wanted to get in shape and more importantly fit into my old clothes.

Well it's now nearly March, I'm still running about 5 days a week. I'm now up to 20-25 miles a week and thinking about running a half marathon just to have something to work toward. I've shed all the baby weight, over 25lbs in fact! Now that I can wear some of my old clothes, I've discovered I don't like them anymore. Go figure.

As for the kids, Adam is walking, running, jumping, and his vocabulary is slowly expanding beyond his favorite word "ball". He still remains a happy easy going baby and at 18 months is still taking two solid naps and sleeping 7pm-7am. He's definitely starting to assert himself by screaming and kicking when I do something he doesn't like....like leave the park, put him in the carseat, change his diaper, etc. For the past few weeks, he has pooped in 3 out of 5 baths. It's exhausting and disgusting! All the toys get quarantined and the boys get rewashed. I'm considering giving him a bath before dinner because it's just gross. And despite me telling him to stop he, he continues to use the bathtub as his toilet.

Speaking of toilets, Adam has started to show an interest in the potty. He hasn't used it successfully, but has peed in the vicinity of it about three times. He usually always stands up right at the critical moment so there is pee on the floor. He likes copying big brother so I think he enjoys sitting next to him on his own potty.

Adam is 18 months old and about 21 pounds. At 15 months he was in the 1st percentile for weight, but at 18 months he's moved up to the 4th percentile. For height he continues to be in the 65-75th percentile. If you can believe it, I registered my little baby for preschool for next fall. My Mom said, "How can you register him for school, he doesn't even talk!?" I agree it's funny, but I'm sure by 2, he'll be talking.

Ethan started riding his bike around Christmas without training wheels...yes at 3.5 years old! Within a month he was jumping curbs, trying to pop wheelies, charging through grass, and crashing. He's always been a daredevil and fearless so I guess I'm not too surprised. He also rode a quad out in the desert for the first time in November 09. He did really well, driving carefully and listening to Dad. When he rides the quad or bike he always has such a serious and intense face. I'm glad he is so focused, but at the same time I hope he's having fun.

Ethan still remains to be difficult, constantly challenging everything. He still eats horribly unless you give him yogurt or cheese. He's about 37lbs at 3.5 years old. General updates: he knows his letters and numbers up to 20 with a few misses on the way. He can identify his name, but hasn't memorized the letters in his name. When we are in the car, he's constantly asking me how to spell different things. I just discovered he's memorized quite a few books from cover to cover. The other night he read Hop on Pop to Adam and didn't miss a step. Dave said he also read The Bernstein Bear's Spooky Old Tree to Adam.

So here is the new website for Jen Bentley Photography!
And here is my facebook fan page Become a fan!

I'm not sure if pictures are going to make it on this blog any time soon, but check my photography blog for recent pictures of the kids.

Choppy updates

Adam likes to shut doors, but hates it when he ends up on one side and you on the other. He can walk holding just one of our hands. He can stand for a second, but will not get up to standing and balance on his own. I always set him up.

Ethan likes school.
Adam and Ethan get black eyes two days apart. Ethan gets his first black eye from his friend Kaitlyn. Wish it was a funny story about how she slugged him, but it was just two wild and crazy three year olds coming from two different directions and crashing. Adam's black eye was care of the coffee table.

Oregon Travels

Adam eats coleslaw, french fries, fish, seafood cakes and Ethan eats sunflower butter and fruit spread sandwiches.

Ethan sleeps in the SUV after a rough night. He kept Adam up past 8pm talking and thrashing in the back of the motorhome. Adam sleeps in the bathroom hallway for naps and at night. Ethan slept the first night with me on the couch and the second night he wanted to sleep on the floor like Daddy, in Uncle Matt's spot. Uncle Matt decided waking up at 6am wasn't cool and opted to tent camp nearby. Dave and I would have gone with him if we had sleeping bags, though I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa would find us.

We had wonderful meals out, bbq on the beach, shrimp cocktails in the motorhome, margaritas, and lots of sightseeing. It was a great trip and wonderful to have at least four people around to entertain/distract the kids at all times. I got to go jog on the beach in the morning (until I almost got stuck on the way back because of the high tide), workout in the gym, swim in the pool, and nap occasionally.

We toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory, saw Depoe Bay, Newport, Lincoln City, went to the Newport Aquarium (quite impressive!), checked out the Air Museum, and chilled with the Grandparents and Uncle Matt quite a bit.

Adam's first flight

We left the house at 9am for our flight. The line for checking in bags was long and security was longer. Luckily we got bags checked and an escort pass for Dave without a problem. Security confiscated my baby sunscreen (8oz) that was half full. They also questioned my children's Benadryl, but they allowed it when I said that was for my son's food allergies and I have to take it. They made Adam take off his Robeez...seriously? After I repacked all my liquids minus the sunscreen and put on everyone's shoes, we were off to the gate to find out it was fuller than full flight. Oh boy I get to travel with a lap baby.

We got in line to board, and they made an announcement that there was a hydrolic leak. We got to sit around for two hours waiting for a replacement plane after they tried to repair it. So we were in the airport for 4 hours before we finally got to board the plane and Dave finally got to go home and have lunch.

G was really excited to fly on the plane this time. Unfortunately he didn't get a window seat because they made me install Adam's carseat in the window so none of us could see out. I had a heck of a time trying to install the thing because I couldn't get to the other side. Every time I tried to tighten the seatbelt it would unlatch. I lost a lot of skin on my forearm shoving my hand through the back of the carseat.

G was surprisingly good on the flight all things considering. A took a sweaty nap on Dave's chest so it was short and he was grumpy. I fed him snacks the whole time while trying to keep G entertained with hot wheels, a sticker book, Aquadoodle, fruit snacks, and Skittles. I think I annoyed everyone around me with my vocal children. Luckily the flight was short and Grandpa met us at the gate when we landed.

G ran up to Grandpa when he saw him and gave him a big hug. A was not so thrilled with seeing the Grandparents. He clung to me and cried when passed off. He had an especially hard time with Grandma.

We have movement!!

He crawls backwards! It's usually when he's crying, but hey it's a start! He has been sooo clingy lately. If I put him down to play with toys and then go maybe 10 feet away to wash his dishes, he freaks out! He wants me close enough to touch. He often spends time trying to jump in my lap. He's a total Mama's boy, unlike his big brother at this age. G didn't care who held him or where he was.

Unlike his brother, Adam is still a good sleeper . However we did have a spell of difficulty. Just like his buddy Kyle, he started to scream whenever I put him down in his crib. He would immediately stop if I picked him up. Previously he would just insert his thumb and roll to his side and drift off to sleep. But he started to scream bloody murder, roll all the way over to his stomach which would make him even more angry and eventually he would fall asleep. Luckily that phase only lasted a week or so and now he seems to be back to his chill self.

Run Oskar Run!

Oskar and I started to run/walk in the morning everyday. Adam gets up so early (6am) so I feed him and hand him off to Dave and Oskar and I go for a run. I hope I can keep it up. It's nice to have some time away from the kiddos even if it's doing something I really hate (but need to do!). I'm really just hoping to fit into my old clothes. I have so many perfectly good clothes sitting in my closet. By the time I fit back into them (if ever!) they'll be out of style I'm sure.

In other news, G didn't cry when I dropped him off at preschool this week! We also had an incredible errand day. I took both boys to Target and Costco in one day! G was just so cooperative it was incredible. It was also short lived. The next day he woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was whining and whining. It was so bad we had to leave playgroup early because he just wouldn't stop whining. I think he was tired and overheated because I asked if we could go by Trader Joes on the way home for yogurt and he agreed. I was afraid of what he was going to lose it in the store, but he was pretty good.

Maybe he's growing up finally and maturing. We can finally do timeouts on the stairs and he stays put. Of course we are threatening to send him to his room if he doesn't stay put.